Preview — Giants in the Earth by O.E. Rølvaag

Giants in the Earth: A Saga of the Prairie

Giants in the Earth (Norwegian: Verdens Grøde) is a novel by Norwegian-American author Ole Edvart Rølvaag. First published in Norwegian as two books in 1924 and 1925, the English edition was translated by the author and Lincoln Colcord, each of whom also wrote prefatory matter.

Part of a trilogy, the novel follows a Norwegian pioneer family's struggles with the land and theGiants in the Earth (Norwegian: Verdens Grøde) is a novel by Norwegian-American author Ole Edvart Rølvaag. First published in Norwegian as two books in 1924 and 1925, the English edition was translated by the author and Lincoln Colcord, each of whom also wrote prefatory matter.

Part of a trilogy, the novel follows a Norwegian pioneer family's struggles with the land and the elements of the Dakota Territory as they try to make a new life in America. The book is based partly on Rølvaag's personal experiences as a settler, and on the experiences of his wife’s family who had been immigrant homesteaders. The novel depicts snow storms, locusts, poverty, hunger, loneliness, homesickness, the difficulty of fitting into a new culture, and the estrangement of immigrant children who grow up in a new land.

Giants in the Earth was turned into an opera by Douglas Moore and Arnold Sundgaard; it won the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 1951....more

Paperback, 560 pages

Published
August 4th 1999
by Harper Perennial Modern Classics
(first published 1925)

Community Reviews

I hated this book. It felt like counting sand. Or corn. Or whatever the hell they were growing. Oh and everyone is named Hansa. Seriously, this book moves so slow, you could literally skip entire chapters (maybe even 2 or three), and NOTHING WOULD HAVE HAPPENED.

Maybe I'm being a bit harsh. To be fair, there is a lot of depth and meaning to the story and it does resonate with many Americans because for some, the story of the prarie life is the story of their ancestery. Most people don't considerI hated this book. It felt like counting sand. Or corn. Or whatever the hell they were growing. Oh and everyone is named Hansa. Seriously, this book moves so slow, you could literally skip entire chapters (maybe even 2 or three), and NOTHING WOULD HAVE HAPPENED.

Maybe I'm being a bit harsh. To be fair, there is a lot of depth and meaning to the story and it does resonate with many Americans because for some, the story of the prarie life is the story of their ancestery. Most people don't consider American's Heartland much of a wilderness any more, but once it was wild and untamed. And it could be at times brutal, beautiful, and even evil. The story of the Norweigen family led by Per Hansa struggling to not only survive in this brave new world, but to try and make a place for themselves is truly the story of the American spirit. The wild west may get all the glamor, but the true story of America's coming of age is told in stories like this one.

That sounds all well and good but damn, did Rolvaag have to make it so dry? To put this in perspective, I've read "Paradise Lost" just for fun. And believe me, that is not something to be taken lightly. And that was easier to get through than this.

Here's an example of what it's like to take just about any 200 pages in the book at random and read through them:

"Today Big-Hansa tended the corn with Little-Hansa. It is growing. Soon we will have corn. To eat. We will eat the corn. Then we will grow something else. Ma-Hansa and Boy-Hansa put sod on the roof. Then we looked at the grass and made deep, philosophical conjectures about the meaning of life. Then it rained. The next day, we tended the corn some more. Hansa and Hansa took some corn to Hansa and then went to see Hansa to Hansa Hansa and get some more Hansa Hansa Hansa Hansa with his Hansa Hansa. It was a good Hansa today. Hansa Hansa Hansa Hansa Hansa Malkovich Malkovich Malkovich Hansa Hansa corn. The next day, Hansa went outside and sat on the porch and died. Probably from too much corn. We ate some corn."

Randomly change the weather, the crops, and maybe have them get buried in the snow for 6 weeks, and you'll have written "Giants in the Earth."...more

Thought I would re-read this book about Norwegian pioneers in South Dakota, in anticipation of the arrival of our exchange student from Norway.

I love this book. It answers many of the adult questions I had when re-reading Little House on the Prairie with my kids. How did the mother bear the intense isolation? What was the psychological impact of that endless horizon? Did bugs crawl out of the sod house walls? (However, like the Little House books, Giants is silent on the subject of frontier outhThought I would re-read this book about Norwegian pioneers in South Dakota, in anticipation of the arrival of our exchange student from Norway.

I love this book. It answers many of the adult questions I had when re-reading Little House on the Prairie with my kids. How did the mother bear the intense isolation? What was the psychological impact of that endless horizon? Did bugs crawl out of the sod house walls? (However, like the Little House books, Giants is silent on the subject of frontier outhouses.)

This could be subtitled “Manic-Depressive on the Prairie”. The hero, Per Hansa, provides the manic side: relentlessly optimistic, boundlessly energetic, canny, outgoing. His wife, Beret, is depressed: forlorn without her birth family, frightened by the limitlessness of the landscape, haunted by a sin. The children are sunny and untroubled. All the security they know or want – their parents – is right there.

Religious fervor plays a major role in the book. For Beret, it is salvation; for Per Hansa, doom. I wonder if the religious theme was considered at all controversial when this was originally published.

I am sympathetic to reviewers here who complain that this was 400+ pages of milking cows and feeding chickens (though in fact the chickens don’t appear until about page 200). And there are an awful lot of characters with some variant of the name Hans. I will have to ask our exchange student what is up with the troll phobia, too....more

Genna WangsnessOle rolvagg married into one of the families and based Giants on recorded family stories. Because the families settled into one area they all intermarOle rolvagg married into one of the families and based Giants on recorded family stories. Because the families settled into one area they all intermarried so my husband's related so their family through marriage....more
Aug 12, 2013 04:09AM

Genna Wangsnesssorry for the auto correct misuse of words! That was a wagon train reunion they attended.
Aug 12, 2013 04:11AM

"A small caravan was pushing its way through the tall grass. The track that it left behind was like the wake of a boat - except that instead of widening out astern it closed in again."

This sentence, on the first page of Giants in the Earth, captures many of the conflicting emotions that the book's Norwegian immigrant characters face as they homestead in South Dakota during the 1870s. The settlers are moving forward into new experiences, adventures, and the possibility of wealth and status not a"A small caravan was pushing its way through the tall grass. The track that it left behind was like the wake of a boat - except that instead of widening out astern it closed in again."

This sentence, on the first page of Giants in the Earth, captures many of the conflicting emotions that the book's Norwegian immigrant characters face as they homestead in South Dakota during the 1870s. The settlers are moving forward into new experiences, adventures, and the possibility of wealth and status not available to them in the old country. At the same time, they are cut off from family, lost in a trackless prairie, and subject to the sometimes brutal turns of nature.

This isn't a particularly cheery book; the closing chapter is entitled "The Great Plain Drinks the Blood of Christian Men and Is Satisfied." Still, between the hardships, the book paints a comprehensive picture of everyday pioneer life that is deeply moving and convincing, as alien as it is from our way of life only 140 years later. Rolvaag also finds time to drop some heavy questions about religion, family, and heritage into the mix.

There's lots of books about settlers of the American Prairie out there but Rolvaag does one thing remarkably well. Read this about 15 years ago, but still clearly remember Rolvaag's portrayal of the grueling solitude of early settlers of the northern plain. Especially of the wife, often left with her children while her husband went for supplies. Not unlike a sailor's wife, but without the near companionship of other women. Rough living quarters, coping with illness, scarcity of food, etc. Also,There's lots of books about settlers of the American Prairie out there but Rolvaag does one thing remarkably well. Read this about 15 years ago, but still clearly remember Rolvaag's portrayal of the grueling solitude of early settlers of the northern plain. Especially of the wife, often left with her children while her husband went for supplies. Not unlike a sailor's wife, but without the near companionship of other women. Rough living quarters, coping with illness, scarcity of food, etc. Also, remember, these were stoic Norwegians. The men bear their own hardships and are constantly physically challenged. Having been caught in blizzards (and whiteouts) in my lifetime it was evident that Rolvaag wrote them only as one who has been through them could. Frightening - then & still. Some things about nature do not change.

If you're in the mood for a longish classic I highly recommended this for long winter nights by the fire. ...more

When I was a little girl, I loved to read books about the pioneers heading west. What little girl doesn't like Little House on the Prairie? I had forgotten my enjoyment of such books. But Giants in the Earth was so much better. I was glad it was a longer book, so there was more for me to enjoy.

I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I first skimmed it 25 years ago, looking for good quotations to insert into a paper due the next day for a college immigration history class. Of course, the assignment had been to read the book, not skim it, but no such luck. Since then, I've remembered it as bleak and cold and brimming with Hans and Hansas. Now that I've actually read the book, I realize that my earlier assessment didn't do the novel justice. The psychological drama that plays ouI was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I first skimmed it 25 years ago, looking for good quotations to insert into a paper due the next day for a college immigration history class. Of course, the assignment had been to read the book, not skim it, but no such luck. Since then, I've remembered it as bleak and cold and brimming with Hans and Hansas. Now that I've actually read the book, I realize that my earlier assessment didn't do the novel justice. The psychological drama that plays out between Beret and Per Hansa is fascinating, and the South Dakota prairie is one of the best drawn characters in American literature. Like "My Antonia," "Giants in the Earth" is on the surface a simple tale of pioneer life. Look more closely, however, and you discover a squirming mass of existential questions....more

It took me a long time to get through this book the second time around, I think because I knew what was going to happen. But it was more meaningful to read it this time, having just returned from a visit to Slip Up Creek in South Dakota. I stood on the land where my great-great-great-grandparents were among the original settlers in this area of Dakota Territory. The characters in the novel were based on my ancestors, as the author, Ole Rolvaag, married into the family and got much of his informaIt took me a long time to get through this book the second time around, I think because I knew what was going to happen. But it was more meaningful to read it this time, having just returned from a visit to Slip Up Creek in South Dakota. I stood on the land where my great-great-great-grandparents were among the original settlers in this area of Dakota Territory. The characters in the novel were based on my ancestors, as the author, Ole Rolvaag, married into the family and got much of his information for the novel from his wife. It's fascinating to get a taste of what life was like for these pioneers. It was not an easy life, living in such isolation and punishing weather conditions. I have special admiration for my great-great-great grandmothers, as the women had it especially hard, a fact which was not much recognized by the men. Living in such difficult conditions, some of the settlers could not imagine the area every becoming permanently settled, "... nothing but the eternal, unbroken wilderness encompassed them round about, extending boundlessly in every direction; that these vast plains, so like infinity, should ever be peopled and settled, would be a greater miracle than for dead men to rise up and walk." Things can change a great deal in just a few generations!...more

We reached Wall, South Dakota on our ride and I was desperate for a book. Trying to find a book while riding a bicycle across the country turns out to be much harder than one would expect. When asked whether there was a nearby bookstore, most hotel clerks looked at me as if I were asking for a brothel. Bookstore? No, they didn't have any idea. Or, yes, there might be one out in the mall, twenty minutes away (by car!)

At Wall Drug, however, they had a surprisingly good selection of books about NaWe reached Wall, South Dakota on our ride and I was desperate for a book. Trying to find a book while riding a bicycle across the country turns out to be much harder than one would expect. When asked whether there was a nearby bookstore, most hotel clerks looked at me as if I were asking for a brothel. Bookstore? No, they didn't have any idea. Or, yes, there might be one out in the mall, twenty minutes away (by car!)

At Wall Drug, however, they had a surprisingly good selection of books about Native Americans, pioneers, wagon trains, westward exploration, etc. and I was able to buy both this book and Ian Frazier's "Great Plains".

GITE was especially interesting when I read it because we were very near the area in SD where the fictional family settled and we also rode through the very county in Minnesota that they have left on their way west. I have obtained the sequel, "Peder Victorious". ...more

This sits atop my most recommended. It is an intense tale of struggle and determination. It follows a family and their group of friends as they establish a settlement on the prairie. As always I am moved by something the author may not have intended, a story within the story; I regard this among the best love stories I've read. The protagonists' dedication and sacrifice cuts so deep that the love is more bitter than sweet... in the face of their hardships the smallest kindness is a triumph, gentThis sits atop my most recommended. It is an intense tale of struggle and determination. It follows a family and their group of friends as they establish a settlement on the prairie. As always I am moved by something the author may not have intended, a story within the story; I regard this among the best love stories I've read. The protagonists' dedication and sacrifice cuts so deep that the love is more bitter than sweet... in the face of their hardships the smallest kindness is a triumph, gentle moments a symphony. The story teems with adventure and hope but if tears don't pool at your feet then you're already dead because this one is too honest and too tragic... but a must read, just keep tissue at hand....more

This is a true American classic on many levels. Like My Antonia or O Pioneers, it treats the harsh reality of early life on the plains. Written in Norwegian as Rolvaag emigrated to the midwest as a young man, and then returned to Norway for some of his education. He spent his life as a professor at St. Olaf College. The novel (actually two books combined in one volume) captures the hard work, the harsh weather, the importance of cordial relations with neighbors, fear of Indian attacks and most oThis is a true American classic on many levels. Like My Antonia or O Pioneers, it treats the harsh reality of early life on the plains. Written in Norwegian as Rolvaag emigrated to the midwest as a young man, and then returned to Norway for some of his education. He spent his life as a professor at St. Olaf College. The novel (actually two books combined in one volume) captures the hard work, the harsh weather, the importance of cordial relations with neighbors, fear of Indian attacks and most of all, the emotional hardships of those who left everything behind. Rolvaag gives most of his attention to the physical work; raising children, birthing, and household management, not as much. A compelling and fast moving plot and interesting characters will make a memorable impression on any reader interested in early immigrants....more

I read this because I'm the daughter of an immigrant (Holland; not Norway), and I lived in North Dakota for several years.

Thoughts -- randomly:

This is a more gritty, heavier, more serious, more realistic version of the Little House on the Prairie books. Includes braided hay for burning in the winter, grinding wheat in a coffee mill, indian arrowheads and more.

Beret made me sad. I didn't totally get her, and . . . well, she made me sad.

I thought the information about birds and insects and the unsI read this because I'm the daughter of an immigrant (Holland; not Norway), and I lived in North Dakota for several years.

Thoughts -- randomly:

This is a more gritty, heavier, more serious, more realistic version of the Little House on the Prairie books. Includes braided hay for burning in the winter, grinding wheat in a coffee mill, indian arrowheads and more.

Beret made me sad. I didn't totally get her, and . . . well, she made me sad.

I thought the information about birds and insects and the unsettled prairie was interesting.

Per Hansa's enthusiasm was infectious. I liked him so much! I loved his love for life and the way he saw beauty and opportunity everywhere. His energy and tireless investment in his land and his friends amaze me.

Even though these people are Norwegian and my dad is Dutch, and it's a different time, there are still parts that I enjoyed strictly from the immigrant perspective.

Readerlittle house on the prairie had all that. their frozen hands were scratched from braiding hay for burning and they ground wheat in the coffee mill, unlittle house on the prairie had all that. their frozen hands were scratched from braiding hay for burning and they ground wheat in the coffee mill, until they ran out and had nothing to eat. that was in 'the long winter'. this book sounds more like an adult version of the 'turkey red', 'harvest gold', and 'purple prairie' books by esther loewen vogt. my girls love those books so i think i'll get this one for them....more
Aug 25, 2012 05:18AM

It took me years to read "Giants in the Earth"; the novel felt over-familiar, since I grew up across the street from Ole Rolvaag's house in Northfield, Minnesota near the campus of St. Olaf College, where he taught and where a library bears his name. His descendents still lived in the house, and my parents were friends with his great-great granddaughter and her family. I spent many hours there in the 1970s, and the fabled shadow of "Giants of the Earth" hung heavily over the residence in the forIt took me years to read "Giants in the Earth"; the novel felt over-familiar, since I grew up across the street from Ole Rolvaag's house in Northfield, Minnesota near the campus of St. Olaf College, where he taught and where a library bears his name. His descendents still lived in the house, and my parents were friends with his great-great granddaughter and her family. I spent many hours there in the 1970s, and the fabled shadow of "Giants of the Earth" hung heavily over the residence in the form of original posters and a reverent display of the first editions. Rolvaag's own library and office, accessible through a pair of French doors, remained buried in a deluge of papers and books; it had likely been untouched since his death in 1931 and had the unmistakable, pharaonic gloom of a shrine. It was forbidden territory, but we still entered it often.

That dusty room, with its framed quotation from Dante, fencing swords and antique volumes, suggested something of “Giants’” mythic immensity. When I finally returned to the novel, a cursory glance at Rolvaag’s title, biblical epigraph, and chapter titles alone confirmed its vast, heroic ambition. There’s no question that Rolvaag plans to align the story of Norwegian pioneer Per Hansa and his family with heroic archetypes and eternal themes.

But the novel’s prose style and execution offer something more nuanced, if still ambitious: In an opening scene overflowing with bold sensory impressions, Hansa travels with his wife Beret and their children through an ocean of prairie grass as Rolvaag’s prose churns with formidable energy, punctuated by ellipses, exclamation marks and vigorous fragments of observation. The technique is remarkably similar to the technique of Louis-Ferdinand Céline’s 1932 “Journey to the End of Night,” where disconnected language and exclamations evoke a world exploded by the author’s solipsistic energies. Rolvaag’s world is similarly menacing and uncontainable, but his protagonists subsist on the blind faith that it can be reordered and subjugated.

Douglas Moore composed a Pulitzer prize-winning opera based on Rolvaag’s novel in 1951 and I’ve been unable to find a recording. In the absence of Moore’s music, I choose to imagine the work as a natural expression of Giants’ truly operatic material: larger than life, bursting with epic emotion in the best sense of the ideal, as tragic and bravely expressive as Rolvaag’s extraordinary prose. ...more

Published in 1927, this stark, slow-paced novel mirrors the pace of life experienced by Norwegian immigrants as they staked claims and started settlements in the western territories of the United States during the last half of the 19th century. There was nothing romantic about those times; life was undeniably hard, and Rölvaag doesn't sugarcoat his account of it.

At the center of Rölvaag's story are Per Hansa, a strong-willed, independent, and resourceful man, and his wife Beret, who grows increaPublished in 1927, this stark, slow-paced novel mirrors the pace of life experienced by Norwegian immigrants as they staked claims and started settlements in the western territories of the United States during the last half of the 19th century. There was nothing romantic about those times; life was undeniably hard, and Rölvaag doesn't sugarcoat his account of it.

At the center of Rölvaag's story are Per Hansa, a strong-willed, independent, and resourceful man, and his wife Beret, who grows increasingly unhappy with her decision to have left Norway in order to assume the spartan life of a pioneer woman. Each day is pretty much consumed with basic necessities; there's no real luxury to be found, although the characters themselves might regard a bumper crop of wheat or a newly whitewashed wall as such. Entertainment consists primarily of shared meals and story-telling, or (in rare instances) perhaps a fiddle tune or two. The psychology of these people isn't very complex, but their focus on the rhythms of seasonal change, birth, survival, and death doesn't leave much room for the neuroses that are often prominent in "advanced" societies. If there's any exception to this, it's Beret, who for a time appears to suffer from a rather debilitating depression, but ultimately nothing that a little frontier religion can't cure. (Interestingly, religion does not play a very central role in the lives of the community at large, although an itinerant preacher manages to insinuate himself temporarily into the group and stir up some feelings of sin and guilt before fading away.)

A plodding tale, Giants in the Earth is hardly a "must read", but it does offer an antidote to anyone who harbors a nostalgic yearning for prairie life in the days of yore. For a more entertaining account of Norwegian farmers, however, Garrison Keillor may be preferable....more

I have read this book several times, the first time I was on my way to South Dakota to a funeral in about 1975. A cousin had died and I was reading it in the car on the way. Later that day I found myself in a cemetery on the prairie among my ancestors, most born in Norway, some of the stones inscribed in Norwegian, my great-grandfather, and great-great grandfather were buried in that cemetery. The book is a classic pioneer tale, written in Norwegian, translated later into English. The author emiI have read this book several times, the first time I was on my way to South Dakota to a funeral in about 1975. A cousin had died and I was reading it in the car on the way. Later that day I found myself in a cemetery on the prairie among my ancestors, most born in Norway, some of the stones inscribed in Norwegian, my great-grandfather, and great-great grandfather were buried in that cemetery. The book is a classic pioneer tale, written in Norwegian, translated later into English. The author emigrated as a teenager, worked on farms in Minnesota and the Dakota's and eventually went to college and became a professor of Norwegian studies at St. Olaf. Just his story is amazing! This book is actually the first of a trilogy, but the later two are not as good, and never became as well known or well respected. ...more

I sometimes believe that novels have a certain logic to them. As if separate authors have to reach for the same levers to tell their stories.

Let me compare this tale with Jane Smiley's A Thousand Acres A Thousand Acres. One is set in the desolation of the Dakota Territory, one is set in the desolation of Iowa. Both are very cold.

Both begin as tales of a farmer who kicks ass. We wish him well in his competitive and capitalistic zeal. Unfortunately however, the womenfolk don't understand what theI sometimes believe that novels have a certain logic to them. As if separate authors have to reach for the same levers to tell their stories.

Let me compare this tale with Jane Smiley's A Thousand Acres A Thousand Acres. One is set in the desolation of the Dakota Territory, one is set in the desolation of Iowa. Both are very cold.

Both begin as tales of a farmer who kicks ass. We wish him well in his competitive and capitalistic zeal. Unfortunately however, the womenfolk don't understand what the hell they are doing so far from civilization. And they're pissed.

The first book of Rolvaag's 'saga' mixes the genres of immigrant folklore and Viking Epic. Per Hansa not so different than Eric the Red.

Book Two is about Per's wife, Beret. Her leaving Norway, to come to the desolation of the Dakota Terr. - where men and her children become hardened and Unchristian - is a sin for which she must atone. Punishments come out of the earth and from the sky.

Smiley also solves the problem of describing life in the nothingness with a mix of genre. She just steals the template of King Lear, which gives us a King and some feminine furies.

In both stories the feminine must find justice and reconciliation in a male-dominated frontier where her voice is not the first to be heard, where her concerns and her religion don't have the same power as they did back in civilization. As time moves on however, and more settlers arrive, her voice becomes more central and important. The conflict must be resolved....more

I changed my rating for this book upon realizing that it is a existential novel, inadvertently showing the bad side of commanding one's life.

I think that the majority of people who love this book have no idea what it means or what it is trying to say. It paints South Dakota perfectly -- nothing of the plains has changed but the technology and the will to try anew of the people there.

This is not my usual fare, but every so often, I like to stretch my boundaries and I'm glad I did so with this book. Even the intro was fascinating, with much biography of the author. It was interesting to see how Rolvaag, someone of roughly my grandmother's generation, albeit from a very different place, found himself emigrating.

The novel itself is psychologically focused, astutely so. Reading, I felt the openness of the prairie through the different characters' perceptions of, and responses tThis is not my usual fare, but every so often, I like to stretch my boundaries and I'm glad I did so with this book. Even the intro was fascinating, with much biography of the author. It was interesting to see how Rolvaag, someone of roughly my grandmother's generation, albeit from a very different place, found himself emigrating.

The novel itself is psychologically focused, astutely so. Reading, I felt the openness of the prairie through the different characters' perceptions of, and responses to, it. Some experienced it as limitless potential, others as terrifying emptiness. (There is no doubt in my mind that I would have been one of the latter.)

The tale is one of struggle, largely against the elements in the new (to the immigrants) environment, an environment they are wrestling to mold to their needs as they turn the prairie into farmland. It is also a novel of community, as the migrants worked together, helped each other, and shared virtually everything (good and bad). There are grasshoppers--an invasion presented as a direct result of the environmental meddling. There is winter, with bone-chilling cold, hut-burying snow, and home-ripping wind. There is birth. There is madness. There is religion. There love and there is loss. And always, there is hope.

Most of the novel takes place in sod huts and between the families' shares of land. There are only a very few scenes involving interaction between Native Americans and the Norwegians. While the first began with mutual suspicion, the relationship soon became pragmatic. In fact, the Norwegian immigrants got on better with the Native Americans than they did with the Irish immigrants.

Originally published nearly 100 years ago, in Norway, this novel is surprisingly contemporary. It makes a fascinating read....more

"Bright, clear sky over a plain so wide that the rim of the heavens cut down on it around the entire horizon. . . . Bright, clear sky, to-day, to-morrow, and for all time to come"

The opening lines of Ole Rolvaag's 1927 story of Norwegian settlers who start a difficult new life in South Dakota is deceptively optimistic, because the the book is full of the paradoxes of the time. While the new land was beautiful and fertile, it could also be deadly. On the one hand there were acres of land to settl"Bright, clear sky over a plain so wide that the rim of the heavens cut down on it around the entire horizon. . . . Bright, clear sky, to-day, to-morrow, and for all time to come"

The opening lines of Ole Rolvaag's 1927 story of Norwegian settlers who start a difficult new life in South Dakota is deceptively optimistic, because the the book is full of the paradoxes of the time. While the new land was beautiful and fertile, it could also be deadly. On the one hand there were acres of land to settle, so rich that wheat sprang from the earth, but on the other hand there were plagues of locusts, killer snowstorms, and isolation that drove more than one person to madness. I enjoyed this story, written in clear lovely prose, and am glad I didn't read it when I was younger. Reading it now, after I have traveled to the area, after I have seen the grasslands and an example of a sod house, and know something of my own family's story, it was a revelation. Stark, beautiful, and inspiring are all words that describe this tribute to emigrant settlers....more

A gripping and ground-breaking narrative of Norse immigrants making their way into the American plains to carve out their portion of the promise of that age. This is the first of a two-part saga by O. E. Rolvaag, and was originally published in Norway in 1924. Rolvaag subsequently accepted a tenure at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, where he finished the translated edition for United States publishing. This is not a scholarly work in and of itself. To the contrary, this is a great AmeA gripping and ground-breaking narrative of Norse immigrants making their way into the American plains to carve out their portion of the promise of that age. This is the first of a two-part saga by O. E. Rolvaag, and was originally published in Norway in 1924. Rolvaag subsequently accepted a tenure at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota, where he finished the translated edition for United States publishing. This is not a scholarly work in and of itself. To the contrary, this is a great American novel, and it takes its place in the American letters of that time.

From the Editor's Introduction:"We have been used to viewing the frontier in broad and generous perspective and have responded most sympathetically to the epic note that runs through the tale of the conquest of the [North American:] continent. It is the great American romance that give life and drama to our history. ... But the emotional side, the final ledger of human values, we have too little considered - the men and women broken by the frontier, the great army of derelicts who failed and were laid away, ..., in forgotten graves. The cost of it all in human happiness ... [and such:] imponderables too often have been left out of the reckoning in our traditional romantic interpretation. But with the growth of a maturer realism we are beginning to understand how great was the price exacted by the frontier; and it is because 'Giants in the Earth,' for the first time in our fiction, evaluates adequately the settlement in terms of emotion, because it penetrates to the secret inner life of men and women who undertook the heavy work of subduing the wilderness, that it is - quite apart from all artistic values - a great historical document."...more

It's 2:45 in the morning and I've finished it. Ron Wilcox, I can't believe you made me read that book knowing full well how it turns out. O.E.Rölvaag, I enjoyed your book so much, I never wanted it to end - and then when it did end I realized I was right in not wanting that to happen because the ending sucked. It sucked, I say. Here's my hasty revision, which I hope will make me feel better:

(WARNING: Contains spoilers. If you haven't read the book, don't read the following until you get to the pIt's 2:45 in the morning and I've finished it. Ron Wilcox, I can't believe you made me read that book knowing full well how it turns out. O.E.Rölvaag, I enjoyed your book so much, I never wanted it to end - and then when it did end I realized I was right in not wanting that to happen because the ending sucked. It sucked, I say. Here's my hasty revision, which I hope will make me feel better:

(WARNING: Contains spoilers. If you haven't read the book, don't read the following until you get to the part where the minister is leaving for the second time. Then return the book to the library and read my ending instead.)

The minister rode out of town feeling like a failure, but at that moment his prayers were answered and Beret snapped out of her postpartum funk. Per Hansa immediately recognized the change in his wife's demeanor and they sent word to the minister that all is well, so he didn't have to continue feeling so down on himself. Per Hansa and Beret lived happily together for the rest of their days because she didn't turn into a frigid pious nag. A big storm came and dumped a decade's worth of snow on the settlement in just a few weeks, but everyone was prepared, so the animals and people were all safe in shelters and there was a sufficient supply of fuel and food, so the storm was hardly worth mentioning except for the fact that it made for excellent skiing conditions, which Ole and Hans-Store enjoyed until the spring melt, which was sufficient to water that season's bumper crop yields. The settlement prospered and our beloved settlers lived to see their great-grandchildren intermarry with non-Norwegians, which even the elderly had finally accepted as fellow humans. The aged pioneers sighed their last contented breaths and died peacefully before they saw their descendents get the hell out of Dodge, abandoning the land they had toiled long to claim for their posterity. The End....more

The saga of Norwegian immigrants by O. E. Rolvaag entitled Giants in the Earth is truly a heroic epic of the settling of the upper plains. Rolvaag keeps his narrative focused on the family of Per Hansa with his long-suffering wife Beret and four children, And-Ongen, Store-Hans, Ole and Peder Victorious. The last of the children is born in their plains home while the others take part in the trek from Minnesota with which the novel begins. More than this family and their neighbors who form the newThe saga of Norwegian immigrants by O. E. Rolvaag entitled Giants in the Earth is truly a heroic epic of the settling of the upper plains. Rolvaag keeps his narrative focused on the family of Per Hansa with his long-suffering wife Beret and four children, And-Ongen, Store-Hans, Ole and Peder Victorious. The last of the children is born in their plains home while the others take part in the trek from Minnesota with which the novel begins. More than this family and their neighbors who form the new plains settlement, the earth itself is the main character of this story. From the opening moments the narrative is alive with the sounds and colors that surround the immigrant family and the impact of nature and the earth continue to influence their lives throughout the book.

Filled with the vicissitudes of a life on the frontier, the novel celebrates the life of the family and community as they overcome each of the challenges they face. Notable among the difficulties are the emotional problems of Beret as she comes to terms with her anxieties and fears in this rough community on the edge of civilization. Her story highlights the internal struggles of Per Hansa and his family and underlies the narrative of their interaction with the community at large. I have enjoyed this novel again and again ever since I read it as a teenager. Rereading it today I am somewhat reminded of The Good Earth by Pearl Buck which also depicts the influence of the earth on the life of a family. Giants in the Earth is a magnificent portrayal of pioneer human achievement....more

This book, translated from Norwegian, is a classic of pioneer life by an author from my home state of Minnesota. It is considered a minor classic of American literature, and I see why. In the story we follow a young family Per Hansa, his wife Beret, and their children. With a handful of other Norwegians they make their way from Filmore county Minnesota to a homestead just north of Sioux Falls South Dakota. This is a story of the stuggle to live on a treeless prairie that gives a much harder efgeThis book, translated from Norwegian, is a classic of pioneer life by an author from my home state of Minnesota. It is considered a minor classic of American literature, and I see why. In the story we follow a young family Per Hansa, his wife Beret, and their children. With a handful of other Norwegians they make their way from Filmore county Minnesota to a homestead just north of Sioux Falls South Dakota. This is a story of the stuggle to live on a treeless prairie that gives a much harder efge than the Little House books. It is also the story of persoanl disintegration as the lonelyness and isolation lead to Beret's increasing madness, and how the isolated little community struggles to cope. She ultimately recovers her ability to act, but becomes a religious zealot that the community can not bear and her neurosis ultimately leads to tragedy in the famous winter of 1880-81. This book is evocatively written, and it is a powerful story for America and humanity....more

I didn't like this book when I read it in high school. I didn't like it when I reread it in college. And when I reread it recently, I didn't like it again. It is a Longfellow kind of book -- "Life is real! Life is earnest!" Yes, I get it. But it's not enough. Not even if you made it into a TV series starring Michael Landon and Melissa Gilbert.

On the other hand, the Giants, while not in the earth, won the World Series yesterday.

This is not a fast paced book by any means. There is no really big climactic moment, but rather it follows the life of one family trying to survive as homesteaders in the Midwest. Overall I did like the book. I think it does a good job of illustrating just how lonely and difficult it must have been for the people who first settled the Midwest. I liked learning everything they had to do to survive. My main dislikes were that the book is slow moving at points, and the end of the book was not whatThis is not a fast paced book by any means. There is no really big climactic moment, but rather it follows the life of one family trying to survive as homesteaders in the Midwest. Overall I did like the book. I think it does a good job of illustrating just how lonely and difficult it must have been for the people who first settled the Midwest. I liked learning everything they had to do to survive. My main dislikes were that the book is slow moving at points, and the end of the book was not what I expected. As a side note, it was interesting to read this book right after reading The Grapes of Wrath -- it made me even more sympathetic for the people who were driven off their farms in the Midwest after reading how hard their ancestors worked to cultivate the land....more

Published in 1927 in English translated from Norwegian, almost 500 pages, this novel is about pioneering in South Dakota around 1870. I was curious about why a very good writer, William Kittredge, recommended it so strongly, but I thought I'd just pay my respects by skimming it. It turned out to be a gripping story both for the practical facts of life among Norwegian immigrants and for the penetrating psychological study of the effects of that life on a small group who traveled together and settPublished in 1927 in English translated from Norwegian, almost 500 pages, this novel is about pioneering in South Dakota around 1870. I was curious about why a very good writer, William Kittredge, recommended it so strongly, but I thought I'd just pay my respects by skimming it. It turned out to be a gripping story both for the practical facts of life among Norwegian immigrants and for the penetrating psychological study of the effects of that life on a small group who traveled together and settled near each other. Lots of echoes of "Wisconsin Death Trip," the study of depression in similar circumstances in about the same period as that of this stunning story. ...more

I believe that this book captures life in South Dakota during the 1880's. One side of my family lived near where the setting of this story takes place, and the other Norweigen side, lived in North Dakota. When my mother asked my grandmother to tell us about her life back then she said that why would she talk about that life when it was so hard. I remember as a child hearing the story of Ingalls family and the Long Winter, I was drawn back to their life story, while reading this book. Great storyI believe that this book captures life in South Dakota during the 1880's. One side of my family lived near where the setting of this story takes place, and the other Norweigen side, lived in North Dakota. When my mother asked my grandmother to tell us about her life back then she said that why would she talk about that life when it was so hard. I remember as a child hearing the story of Ingalls family and the Long Winter, I was drawn back to their life story, while reading this book. Great story. Realistic. Sad. ...more

Giants in the Earth is truly a heroic epic of the settling of the upper plains. This saga of Norwegian immigrants makes "Little House on the Prairie" look like a fairy tale. This story we follows Per Hansa, his wife Beret, and their children. With a handful of other Norwegians, they make their way from Minnesota to a homestead north of Sioux Falls South Dakota in search of the American Dream.

Filled with the vicissitudes of a life on the frontier, the novel celebrates the life of the family and Giants in the Earth is truly a heroic epic of the settling of the upper plains. This saga of Norwegian immigrants makes "Little House on the Prairie" look like a fairy tale. This story we follows Per Hansa, his wife Beret, and their children. With a handful of other Norwegians, they make their way from Minnesota to a homestead north of Sioux Falls South Dakota in search of the American Dream.

Filled with the vicissitudes of a life on the frontier, the novel celebrates the life of the family and community as they overcome each of the challenges and adversities they face. Notable among the difficulties are the emotional problems of Beret as she comes to terms with her anxieties and fears in this rough community on the edge of civilization. Her story highlights the internal struggles of Per Hansa and his family and underlies the narrative of their interaction with the community at large.

It is also the story of personal disintegration as the lonelyness and isolation lead to Beret's increasing madness, and how the isolated little community struggles to cope. She ultimately recovers her ability to act, but becomes a religious zealot that the community can not bear and her neurosis ultimately leads to tragedy. This book is evocatively written, and it is a powerful story for America and humanity. This book offers an insight to our roots as Americans, and the struggles we have and people still endure to live in this country....more

The other afternoon I wanted to go out for a long walk, but it was kind of dark out and I was concerned about being way out there somewhere on my walk and getting caught in the rain. Well, no problem, right? I popped on the computer, checked the radar and off I went.

Giants in the Earth is America pre-technology. Period. In one scene the father of the immigrant family of the story is caught in a snowstorm, and a snowstorm in those days and where theyYou will leave reality if you read this book.

The other afternoon I wanted to go out for a long walk, but it was kind of dark out and I was concerned about being way out there somewhere on my walk and getting caught in the rain. Well, no problem, right? I popped on the computer, checked the radar and off I went.

Giants in the Earth is America pre-technology. Period. In one scene the father of the immigrant family of the story is caught in a snowstorm, and a snowstorm in those days and where they were could mean life or death. Getting lost, backtracking impossible because of winds covering their tracks, cold, wolves. In the scene, the father only manages to get back to a barn, where there is no fireplace. To survive the bitter overnight cold he lays between two cows, whose body heat alone enables him to survive.

This is a beautiful book. What these people faced to make a better life for themselves was unreal by today's standards. Besides the elements, they had to deal with not speaking the language, homestead disputes with other settlers, sickness with no access to doctors or medicine, intra family squabbles, Indians, superstition, self doubts and recriminations and more than anything venturing into the unknown.

Here's a taste.

A little later the whole colony gathered on top of Indian hill near Per Hansa's. Per Hansa himself, with Beret and the child, came last of all, although they had the shortest distance to walk. Away behind them Ole sauntered along; but Store-Hans was nowhere to be seen. The evening lay heavily on the plain. Toward the south, where the clouds were massing together, it was already deepening into night. No life, no sound—only the wind moaning under a lowering sky... The evening brought memories to them—memories of half-forgotten tales which people had heard and repeated long, long ago, about happenings away off in a far country. There it had been known to have actually taken place, that both man and beast would be spirited away by trolls... So many strange things were hovering between heaven and earth, if one stopped to think...and remember!... But that anything of the sort could happen out here on the open prairie, where not so much as a single jutting cliff or wooded ridge appeared, that was the strangest of all.

This is no boring epic saga. It is intense, real, vital and compelling, and if you want to get away from your cell, texts, emails, FB and Twitter busyness for a while, this is the book to do it....more

This is my favorite book of all time. I simply love the way the author (I think) accurately captures the fears and emotions of these Norwegian immigrants. I live on the plains of North Dakota, and every day I thank God that I have instant access to my friends and the outside world in emergencies or just when I need them. I simply cannot imagine the isolation that they dealt with here (expecting their families to deliver bablies in sod huts... OMG!) but it also shows why they stayed.

One of two books I have read twice. Once as a child and again as an adult because of the great impression the story of these pioneer settlers had left with me. To imagine that we would (could) endure what it took to settle in the lands of America as it was coming of age is an amazing story. Of course as an adult, one is more aware of issues that had to have happened with native Americans but this is not that book. Well worth a read for older kids and for adults.

Ole Edvart Rølvaag was born in the family's cottage in a small fishing village on the island of Dønna, in the far southern district of Nordland county, Norway. Dønna, one of the largest islands on the northern coast of Norway, is situated about five miles from the Arctic Circle. He was born with the name Ole Edvart Pedersen, one of seven children of Peder Benjamin Jakobsen and Ellerine PedersdatteOle Edvart Rølvaag was born in the family's cottage in a small fishing village on the island of Dønna, in the far southern district of Nordland county, Norway. Dønna, one of the largest islands on the northern coast of Norway, is situated about five miles from the Arctic Circle. He was born with the name Ole Edvart Pedersen, one of seven children of Peder Benjamin Jakobsen and Ellerine Pedersdatter Vaag. The settlement where he was born had no official name, but was referred to as Rølvaag, the name of a narrow bay on the northwestern point of the island where the fishermen kept their boats. At 14 years of age Rølvaag joined his father and brothers in the Lofoten fishing grounds. Rølvaag lived there until he was 20 years of age, and the impressions he received during the days of his childhood and his young manhood endured with him throughout his life.[2]

An uncle who had emigrated to America sent him a ticket in the summer of 1896, and he traveled to Union County, South Dakota to work as a farmhand. He settled in Elk Point, South Dakota, working as a farmhand until 1898. With the help of his pastor, Rølvaag enrolled in Augustana Academy in Canton, South Dakota where he graduated in 1901. He earned a bachelor's degree from St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota in 1905, and a master's degree from the same institution in 1910. He also had studied for some time at the University of Oslo....more